Space Invaders (Atari 2600 video game)

Last updated
Space Invaders
Space-Invaders-Atari-2600-box-art.jpg
Cover art credited to "Norman". [1]
Developer(s) Atari [2]
Publisher(s) Atari [2]
Designer(s) Rick Maurer
SeriesSpace Invaders
Platform(s) Atari 2600
ReleaseMarch 10, 1980
Genre(s) Shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Space Invaders is a 1980 video game based on Taito's arcade game of the same name for the Atari 2600. [lower-alpha 1] It was developed and released by Atari, Inc. and designed and developed by Rick Maurer. The game is based on the arcade game in which a player operates a laser cannon to shoot at incoming enemies from outer space. Maurer's version has unique graphics and offers some gameplay variations. These include a two-player mode and variations that allow for invisible enemies and moving shields, and for enemies shots to zig zag and potentially hit players.

Contents

Prior to working at Atari, Maurer developed games at Fairchild Semiconductor. When joining Atari, he was impressed with the Space Invaders arcade game and began developing it in his own time at the company. The game had little interest from the staff, until Ray Kassar saw how well Space Invaders was doing in arcades, which lead him to get the rights to the game for the Atari 2600 and for Maurer to complete his code.

Space Invaders would one of Atari's biggest hits in 1980, with Electronic Games magazine referring to it as a console seller for the system. [4] It became one of the best-selling games for the Atari 2600. When Maurer was only compensated with a $11,000 bonus for the success of the game, he left the company and never developed another Atari 2600 game.

Gameplay

Space Invaders for the Atari 2600 features unique graphics and creature designs from the original arcade game. Space-Invaders-Atari-2600-game-image.jpg
Space Invaders for the Atari 2600 features unique graphics and creature designs from the original arcade game.

Space Invaders has the player at war with enemies from outer space. The player uses the joystick to move left and right and hit the red button fire a laser cannon. The goal is to earn as many points as you can by destroying the enemies with a laser cannon and to eliminate as many of them as you can before they reach the bottom of the screen or before you are hit three times but their own laser attacks. The further rows of aliens give the player more points when hit. If you destroy 36 of them, a new set will appear. In a single-player game, a Command Alien ship will periodically move across the top of the screen. It is worth a larger amount of points than the regular enemies. [5]

The Atari 2600 version of Space Invaders alters the gameplay of the arcade Space Invaders. It features 36 invaders instead of 55 and only feature three defnce bunkers instead of four. The game offered various variations on gameplay, such the ability to have moving bunkers, shots that zig-zag, invisible invaders who would only reveal their position when they were hit by the player successfully. [6] The Atari version of Space Invaders also included a co-operative two-player mode that was not present in any form in the arcade game. [7] There are two variations of play in two-player mode, a partnered mode, where each player can move left or right respectively and both can fire the cannon. Another allows for one player to control the cannon and the other to control the movement of their ship. [5]

Development

The Atari version of Space Invaders was developed by Rick Maurer. [6] Prior to working for Atari, Inc., Maurer worked at Fairchild Semiconductor developing the games such as Pinball Challenge and Hangman for the Fairchild Channel F. [8] Atari had released their system the Atari 2600 towards the end of 1977. It was initially released with nine titles available, five of which ( Air-Sea Battle , Combat , Star Ship , Surround and Video Olympics ) were based on existing arcade properties ( Anti-Aircraft (1975), Tank (1974), Starship 1 (1977), Blockade (1976) and Pong (1972)). [9]

Space Invaders was programmed by Toshihiro Nishikado for Taito in 1978. Midway arranged to distribute the game in the United States following its success in Japan. [10] Rick Mauruer initially came up with the idea of developing a version of Space Invaders for the Atari 2600. [11] At this time in the company, games were not assigned to developers, leading to Maurer to scout local arcades for ideas and being impressed Taito's Space Invaders arcade game, specifically the sound of the game, and began developing the game on his own. [8] Mauer began developing of his version of the game in 1978. [11] Mauer described the process of coding for the Atari 2600 as "having to unlearn every good programming practice you've learned." [11] Fulton developed the game for a few months to get it into a playable state, but received little attention from the consumer division of Atari, who were not interested in having Mauer progress further to develop the game at the time. Maurer then moved on to coding Maze Craze (1980), which he thought would help him hone in his development skills for the Atari 2600. [11]

Management at Atari later noticed discovered the financial success of Taito's Space Invaders. [8] Ray Kassar went to Japan in 1979 to get the rights to the game. This allowed Maurer to continue development of his version. He initially sought out a cover art designer at Atari to create the illustrations of the invaders on graph paper to use in the game. This never happened, leaving Maurer to use his own designs for the characters. Fulton's Space Invaders was initially seven kilobytes (KB) and had to be cut down. He spent three months editing his code to be able to fit on the four KB rom cartridge. [11]

Reception

Space Invaders was released for the Atari 2600 on March 10, 1980. [16] It became a high seller in 1980, earning Atari over $100,000,000. The console version of Space Invaders, along with popular arcade games Asteroids , Missile Command and Battlezone would move Atari's to a growth of $512.7 million for the year. [11] The success of the game lead to Atari rescheduling their entire Atari 2600 line-up from being released during the holiday season to being released throughout the year. The company also began to focus translate as many of arcade hits to the Atari 2600, starting with Missile Command in 1981. [11] An article in the Winter 1981 issue of Electronic Games said that this console release of Space Invaders led to Atari's dominance in the home video game market and that it was the one title that "sold the entire [Atari 2600] system in many cases." [4]

Ken Uston in his book Ken Uston's Guide to Buying and Beating the Home Video Games (1982) declared the version of the game as "one of Atari's best cartridges". [8] In How to Win at Video Games (1982), an anonymous reviewer stated that "Of all the available bottom-shooting games that pit you against colorful rows of descending monsters, none can compare with the one and only home version of classic arcade game". [17] In the 1983 Software Encyclopedia from Electronic Games , the game was given an overall rating of a perfect 10, noting high rankings for single-player gaming and gameplay, while only finding the games graphics and sound to be merely good. [14]

From retrospective reviews, Computer and Video Games reviewed the game in 1989 stating the graphics were low-quality by contemporary standards and while it was an "enjoyable diversion for a while" and suggested that several other games since offer more variety and excitement. [13] In an overview of the game in Retro Gamer (2007), a reviewer commented that the game did not resemble the Space Invaders that players knew, but it had so many qualities that and was still challenging and exciting game. [6] In the magazines list of the top 25 Atari 2600 games, Stuart Hunt and Darran Jones listed Space Invaders in at their 14th spot, writing that it "may not have been able to successfully emulate its arcade peer, but its vast amount of options arguable made it just as good a game." [18]

Legacy

Electronic Games magazine said the release of Space Invaders led to Atari's dominance in the home video game market in 1980 with the Atari 2600 (pictured)." Atari-2600-Wood-4Sw-Set.jpg
Electronic Games magazine said the release of Space Invaders led to Atari's dominance in the home video game market in 1980 with the Atari 2600 (pictured)."

Prior to the release of Space Invaders, the sales of the Atari 2600 were described as "respectable, if not spectacular" while the release of the game led to what Edward B. Driscoll, Jr. of Poptronics as making not just Atari, but "the whole home videogame industry, had its killer app." [19] Space Invaders was one of the best-selling games for the Atari 2600. [20] Following the financial success of Space Invaders, Maurer himself was compensated with a $11,000 bonus. Disgusted by the industry, he left and never made another Atari 2600 game. [11]

A special version of the game titled Pepsi Invaders (1983) was produced at Atari that was given at to employees of the Coca-Cola Company at a sales convention in 1983. [21] Rob Fulop would translate his own version of Space Invaders to the Atari 400 and 800 computer line. [22] Fulop's version also had unique elements to it, such as the invaders marching out of a rocket ship on the left side of the screen. [23] In 2004, a hack of titled Space Invader Deluxe for the Atari 2600 was released which included the cut-scenes and color schemes similar to Space Invaders Part II (1979), using an extra 4K of rom to add a title screen and higher sound quality. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari 2600</span> Home video game console

The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System, it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. The VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge—initially Combat and later Pac-Man. Sears sold the system as the Tele-Games Video Arcade. Atari rebranded the VCS as the Atari 2600 in November 1982 alongside the release of the Atari 5200.

<i>Space Invaders</i> 1978 video game

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade video game, developed and released by Taito in Japan and licensed to Midway Manufacturing for overseas distribution. Commonly considered to be one of the most influential video games of all time, Space Invaders was the first fixed shooter and set the template for the genre. The goal is to defeat wave after wave of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser cannon to earn as many points as possible.

<i>Kaboom!</i> (video game) 1981 action game

Kaboom! is an action video game published in 1981 by Activision for the Atari 2600. The gameplay was based on the Atari arcade game Avalanche (1978), with the game now involving a Mad Bomber who drops bombs instead of falling rocks. Kaboom! was programmed by Larry Kaplan with David Crane coding the graphics for the buckets and Mad Bomber. It was the last game designed by Kaplan for Activision, who left the company shortly after the release of the game. The game was later ported by Paul Wilson for the Atari 5200 system.

<i>Pitfall!</i> 1982 video game

Pitfall! is a video game developed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and released in 1982 by Activision. The player controls Pitfall Harry, who has a time limit of 20 minutes to seek treasure in a jungle. The game world is populated by enemies and hazards that variously cause the player to lose lives or points.

<i>Phoenix</i> (1980 video game) 1980 video game

Phoenix is a fixed shooter video game developed for arcades in Japan and released in 1980 by Taito. The player controls a space ship shooting at incoming enemies that fly from the top of the screen down towards the player's ship. There are five stages which repeat endlessly. The fifth is a fight against a large enemy spaceship, making Phoenix one of the first shooters with a boss battle, an element that would become common for the genre.

<i>Combat</i> (video game) 1977 video game

Combat is a 1977 video game by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System. In the game, two players controlling either a tank, a biplane, or a jet fire missiles at each other for two minutes and sixteen seconds. Points are scored by hitting the opponent, and the player with the most points when the time runs out wins. Variations on the gameplay introduce elements such as invisible vehicles, missiles that ricochet off of walls, and different playing fields.

<i>Demon Attack</i> Fixed shooter video game from 1982

Demon Attack is a fixed shooter video game created by Rob Fulop for the Atari 2600 and published by Imagic in 1982. The game involves the player controlling a laser cannon from the surface of a planet, shooting winged demons that fly down and attack the player in different sets of patterns.

<i>Haunted House</i> (video game) 1982 video game

Haunted House is a 1982 adventure video game programmed by James Andreasen for the Atari Video Computer System and published by Atari. The player controls an avatar shaped like a pair of eyes who explores a mansion seeking out parts of an urn to return to the entrance. The game world is populated by roaming enemies including vampire bats, tarantulas, and a ghost. Haunted House was among the first games to use player-controlled scrolling between large portions of the visual space.

<i>Atlantis</i> (video game) 1982 video game

Atlantis is a fixed shooter video game released by Imagic in July 1982 for the Atari 2600. It was written by Dennis Koble who also wrote Trick Shot, Solar Storm, and Shootin' Gallery for Imagic. Atlantis was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, VIC-20, Intellivision, and the Magnavox Odyssey 2. The game was inspired by Taito's 1981 Colony 7 arcade game.

<i>River Raid</i> 1982 video game

River Raid is a video game developed by Carol Shaw for the Atari Video Computer System and released in 1982 by Activision. The player controls a fighter jet over the River of No Return in a raid behind enemy lines. The goal is to navigate the flight by destroying enemy tankers, helicopters, fuel depots and bridges without running out of fuel or crashing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second generation of video game consoles</span> Second video game console generation, including the Atari 2600

In the history of video games, the second-generation era refers to computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld video game consoles available from 1976 to 1992. Notable platforms of the second generation include the Fairchild Channel F, Atari 2600, Intellivision, Odyssey 2, and ColecoVision. The generation began in November 1976 with the release of the Fairchild Channel F. This was followed by the Atari 2600 in 1977, Magnavox Odyssey² in 1978, Intellivision in 1980 and then the Emerson Arcadia 2001, ColecoVision, Atari 5200, and Vectrex, all in 1982. By the end of the era, there were over 15 different consoles. It coincided with, and was partly fuelled by, the golden age of arcade video games. This peak era of popularity and innovation for the medium resulted in many games for second generation home consoles being ports of arcade games. Space Invaders, the first "killer app" arcade game to be ported, was released in 1980 for the Atari 2600, though earlier Atari-published arcade games were ported to the 2600 previously. Coleco packaged Nintendo's Donkey Kong with the ColecoVision when it was released in August 1982.

<i>Pepsi Invaders</i> 1983 video game

Pepsi Invaders is a non-commercially released 1983 fixed shooter video game developed by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600. It was commissioned by The Coca-Cola Company to be handed out to salespeople at their 1983 sales convention. A reskin of the system's version of Space Invaders, the player shoots down a flying formation of letters spelling "PEPSI", Coca-Cola's long-time rival. Only 125 copies were distributed.

<i>Pac-Man</i> (Atari 2600 video game) Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man

Pac-Man is a 1982 maze video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. under official license by Namco, and an adaptation of the 1980 hit arcade game of the same name. The player controls the title character, who attempts to consume all of the wafers in a maze while avoiding four ghosts that pursue him. Eating flashing wafers at the corners of the screen causes the ghosts to temporarily turn blue and flee, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points. Once eaten, a ghost is reduced to a pair of eyes, which return to the center of the maze to be restored.

<i>Megamania</i> 1982 video game

Megamania is a video game developed by Steve Cartwright and published by Activision in 1982. The game is a Fixed shooter, where a pilot of an intergalactic space cruiser who after eating a variety of food, has a nightmare where his ship is being attacked by food and house hold objects. Using the missile launcher from his space cruiser, he finds himself being attacked by various food items and house hold objects.

<i>Superman</i> (1979 video game) Action-adventure game for the Atari 2600

Superman is a video game programmed by John Dunn for the Atari Video Computer System and released in 1979 by Atari, Inc. The player controls Superman, whose quest is to explore an open-ended environment to find three pieces of a bridge that was destroyed by Lex Luthor, capture Luthor and his criminal gang, and return to the Daily Planet building. The game world is populated by antagonists such as a helicopter that re-arranges the bridge pieces and roving kryptonite satellites that cause Superman to revert into Clark Kent.

<i>Surround</i> (video game) 1977 video game

Surround is a video game programmed by Alan Miller and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600. The game plays similarly to the arcade game Blockade (1976), which allows players to navigate a continuously moving block around an enclosed space as a wall trails behind it. Every time the opposite player has their brick hit a wall, the opposing player earns a single point, with the winner being the first to collect ten points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari 2600 homebrew</span> Video game genre

The first hobbyist-developed game for the Atari 2600 video game console was written in 1995, and more than 100 have been released since then. The majority of games are unlicensed clones of games for other platforms, and there are some also original games and ROM hacks. With only 128 bytes of RAM, no frame buffer, and the code and visuals closely intertwined, the 2600 is a difficult machine to program. and many games were written for the technical challenge. Emulators, programming tools, and documentation are available.

<i>Yars Revenge</i> 1982 video game

Yars' Revenge is a video game released for the Atari 2600 in 1982. It was created by Howard Scott Warshaw and is Atari's best-selling original game for the 2600.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ The system was initially released as the Atari Video Computer System. It became known as the Atari 2600 only after the release of the Atari 5200 in 1982. [3]

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.